West Hampstead Thameslink railway station

West Hampstead Thameslink is a National Rail station on the Midland Main Line and is served by Thameslink trains as part of the Thameslink route between Kentish Town and Cricklewood. The station is in Travelcard Zone 2.

West Hampstead Thameslink
New station building which opened in November 2011
West Hampstead Thameslink Location of West Hampstead Thameslink in Greater London
Location	West Hampstead
Local authority	London Borough of Camden
Managed by	Thameslink
Station code(s)	WHP
DfT category	E
Number of platforms	4
Accessible	Yes
Fare zone	2
OSI	West Hampstead West Hampstead [1]
National Rail annual entry and exit
2018–19	3.756 million[2]
– interchange	0.960 million[2]
2019–20	3.987 million[2]
– interchange	0.998 million[2]
2020–21	1.091 million[2]
– interchange	0.325 million[2]
2021–22	2.233 million[2]
– interchange	0.659 million[2]
2022–23	2.862 million[2]
– interchange	1.057 million[2]
Railway companies
Original company	Midland Railway
Pre-grouping	Midland Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
1 March 1871	Opened as West End for Kilburn and Hampstead
1 July 1903	Renamed West End
1 April 1904	Renamed West End and Brondesbury
1 September 1905	Renamed West Hampstead
25 September 1950	Renamed West Hampstead Midland
16 May 1988	Renamed West Hampstead Thameslink
Other information
External links	Departures Facilities
Coordinates	51.5484°N 0.1930°W / 51.5484; -0.1930
London transport portal

History

First Capital Connect EMU 319368 calls with a Sutton Loop service.

The station was built by the Midland Railway on its extension to St. Pancras, to serve the newly developed area around the hamlet of West End. It opened on 1 March 1871, and was originally named West End for Kilburn and Hampstead.^[3]

For a short period from 1878 the station formed part of the Super Outer Circle, Midland trains running through from St Pancras to Earl's Court via Acton Central and Turnham Green.^[4]

It was renamed several times: to West End on 1 July 1903; to West End and Brondesbury on 1 April 1904; to West Hampstead on 1 September 1905; West Hampstead Midland on 25 September 1950; and finally West Hampstead Thameslink on 16 May 1988.^[3] It was popular for many years for people taking a day out on Hampstead Heath and those visiting the chalybeate springs in Hampstead itself.^[5]

Oyster Pay as you go was introduced in late 2007.

From March 2009, Southeastern and Thameslink began running some peak hour trains from Sevenoaks to Luton,^[6] though in the off-peak these services turn back at Kentish Town.

v t e Stations in West Hampstead
Legend
Chiltern Main Line to Birmingham LU Jubilee and Metropolitan lines Thameslink and Midland Main Line North London line to Richmond London Overground station Thameslink station West Hampstead (on West End Lane) LU Jubilee line station Finchley Road OSI: Finchley Road (MR) (1868–1927) Finchley Road & Frognal OSI: North London line to Stratford Thameslink and Midland Main Line LU Jubilee and Metropolitan lines Chiltern Main Line to Marylebone
OSI = Out of station interchange

Connections

London Buses routes 139, 328 and C11 serve the station.^[7]

Services

All services at West Hampstead Thameslink are operated by Thameslink using Class 700 EMUs.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:^[8]

• 2 tph to Bedford (non-stop to and from St Albans City)
• 2 tph to Luton (all stations except Cricklewood and Hendon)
• 4 tph to St Albans City (all stations)
• 2 tph to Brighton via Gatwick Airport
• 2 tph to Rainham via Dartford
• 4 tph to Sutton (2 of these run via Mitcham Junction and 2 run via Wimbledon)

During the peak hours, the station is served by additional services between Luton and Orpington via Catford.

The station is also served by a night service between Bedford and Three Bridges on Sunday to Friday nights.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
St Albans City or Cricklewood		Thameslink Thameslink		Kentish Town or London St Pancras International
	Historical railways
Cricklewood		Midland Railway Dudding Hill Line		Finchley Road

See also

• Stations in West Hampstead

References

1. "Out-of-Station Interchanges" (Microsoft Excel). Transport for London. 2 January 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
2. "Estimates of station usage". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
3. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 245. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
4. "Circle Line". Clive's UndergrounD Line Guides. Retrieved 30 December 2009.
5. Radford, B., (1983) Midland Line Memories: a Pictorial History of the Midland Railway Main Line Between London (St Pancras) & Derby London: Bloomsbury Books
6. Train Times – Thameslink Route (PDF). First Capital Connect. March–May 2009. p. 52. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 April 2009. Retrieved 16 March 2009.
7. "Buses from West Hampstead" (PDF). Transport for London. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
8. Table 52, 179, 195, 201 National Rail timetable, December 2023

External links

• Train times and station information for West Hampstead Thameslink railway station from National Rail